With 95,755 terminals currently accessible to the public, France is finally approaching the objective announced by Emmanuel Macron in 2020. The President of the Republic indeed promised to offer 100,000 charging points in the territory by the end of the year. . But all is not rosy for all that, since reliability can sometimes be a problem.
Political promises that do not materialize quickly are not uncommon. We think in particular of the car at 100 euros per month, which is still pedaling in the semolina as well as the zero-rate loan, which is also at a standstill for the moment. Without forgetting of course that of making 100,000 charging stations accessible in France by the end of 2021. This objective was announced in May 2020, but it is still not reached.
Coming soon !
However, it is only a matter of weeks now before this promise is finally kept, more than a year and a half late. Because according to the latest report published by Avere-France, the country had no less than 95,755 charging stations accessible to the public at the end of March. A constantly rising figure, since these are 4,487 new stations that have opened since the beginning of the year.
This represents no less than 13,648 new charging points open to the public, while France had 85,284 in January. Compared to last year, the number of catches has therefore increased by 66%. France is increasingly able to meet the growing demand, although it is not yet a very good performer compared to Germany and the Netherlands, among others.
Moreover, if the infrastructures develop, these remain still and always badly distributed. Because it is not surprising in Île-de-France that the terminals are the most numerous, while thethere are currently 17,451, grouped in 4,692 stations. It is followed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region with 11,491 terminals and 4,405 stations.
In total, Île-de-France concentrates no less than 349,871 kW, out of the 2,977,817 for the whole of France. However, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is in the lead with 410,738 kW. The least equipped region remains once again Guyana, which has a ceiling of 25 stations and 39 terminals.
Increased reliability
Today, most terminals are installed in shops (39%) as well as in car parks (34%) and on the road (22%). The power the most common is between 7.4 and 22 kW alternating current, since these outlets represent 53% of the supply. Only 1% of terminals deliver at least 350 kW. These are those installed by Ionity with 350 kW as well as Lidl, Kallista Energy, which display 360 kW. The most common direct current charging points are those of less than 50 KW (4%).
In March, the number of charging sessions increased slightly compared to February, with an average of 13.6 per terminal, compared to 12.6 the previous month. However, most electric car owners plug in at home, as a study conducted by Enedis reminds us. In addition, it should be remembered that the month of February has fewer days.
If the reliability of the terminals is not yet perfect, it has nevertheless been slightly improved. The availability rate, which counts outlets that are not out of service or under maintenance, is 86% on average for alternating current ones and 78% for those over 150 KW. It was respectively 84 and 77% in February. Something to reassure motorists, many of whom are worried about the autonomy of their car.
The objective of 100,000 terminals should therefore be reached soon, especially since many operators continue their development, such as Fastned or Tesla with its Superchargers. At the same time, the government also wants to equip all motorway areas, in accordance with the will of the European Union, which will oblige member countries to install a terminal every 60 kilometers.
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